At Gumption Gear we continually strive to provide our readers with in-depth, informative, and balanced reviews of the latest outdoor & adventure lifestyle products. Towards those ends, our “Business of Gear” feature allows us a unique opportunity to talk with industry insiders and introduce you to the personalities, ideas and vision behind your favorite (or soon to be favorite) gear.
Today we bring you the story of Northern Lites Snowshoes. For 20 years Northern Lites has operated on a simple premise: Snowshoes should be built in a way that allows your mind to focus on your surroundings, not what’s on your feet. We reached out to the Northern Lites team and asked them a few questions about the brand, its direction and goals.
Our thanks to the Northern Lites Snowshoes for making this Q&A session possible.
Q: For those who are unfamiliar with the brand, what is Northern Lites? What is the vision behind Northern Lites Snowshoes?
Northern Lites has been in the business of building the World’s Lightest Snowshoes for over 20 years. Since the beginning, it was important to the founder as well as the current owners and management to provide the highest quality snowshoe while maintaining our core values of USA made parts and pieces as well as being the lightest snowshoe on the market. As far as our vision for the future, our goal to be one of the top USA made snowshoe brands by 2017. For Northern Lites, this means that we will no longer just be a niche product for top athletes, explorers and search and rescue personnel. But the top choice for the weekend snowshoers and family oriented adventurers.
Q: The snowshoe market has bloosomed in recent years. The good news is this means plenty of options for the consumer, the downside is that it can be a daunting task to pick the right pair of snowshoes. What sets Northern Lites apart?
When you pick up a pair of Northern Lites, the first thing you will notice is how light they are compared to other aluminum, plastic and even carbon fiber snowshoes currently available on the market. Northern Lites Snowshoes are literally the World’s Premier Snowshoes. We combine the highest quality and lightest weight materials with our tension/compression design to create a high strength, highly durable and extremely light weight snowshoe. Coupled with the fact that we are USA made and our price point is comparable to, or lower than the top snowshoe manufacturers on the market, and you get a fantastic snowshoe and snowshoeing experience. We provide a snowshoe line that includes Race, Youth, Women’s Specific and Rescue.
Q: Why is the weight factor such a passion at Northern Lites?
While we agree that ease of use for the binding is an important factor, the shape of the snowshoe is a factor and traction is a factor, we believe the one thing that most manufacturers lost while trying to provide this is weight. We believe that if people are truly going to get the most out of their snowshoeing experience, they should not have to worry about what is on their feet. Their snowshoe itself should not be a weight hindrance, but an actual tool to assist them in going further faster. Our technical designs allow for a lighter smaller shoe to provide you with the flotation of other larger heavier snowshoes. This gives us a real advantage for long distance runners, explorers, rescue personal and the average outdoor enthusiasts like ourselves.
You see other manufacturers trying to reduce the weight of their snowshoes now after years of adding weight to improve their systems. Carbon fiber decking, carbon frames, minimalist sizing. We look at all these attempts to create what we have had on the market for over 20 years. However, we do not need to reduce our size, eliminate our binding or increase the cost outlandishly to get a light weight snowshoe. Our design also allows for very little waste and a streamlined eco-friendly manufacturing process.
Q: What can you tell us about Northern Lites after sales support?
Honestly, prior to 2011, this is where Northern Lites as a company lacked. We were a small manufacturer with a minimalist staff. Now, under new ownership and management, Northern Lites has excelled at our post purchase customer service. From customer questions to repair items, we strive, to provide the best customer experience possible. From dealer support to end user follow up, everything we do and talk about revolves around supporting our customers. We provide in house technical training and support to all our retailers nationwide to help assist their sales associates to better inform the end user of the benefits of the Northern Lites Snowshoe.
Q: If there was only one thing you could tell people about the brand, what would it be?
This question is tough because there are so many great things to say. If I had to sum up Northern Lites in one statement it would be; Northern Lites is owned and operated by normal every day individuals who love the outdoors and the sport of snowshoeing and who strive to provide the highest quality lightest weight American Made Snowshoe on the market today.
Q: Where can people get the Northern Lites line-up of products?
From Maine to Alaska we have retailers who carry our product. If they do not have the exact shoe you are looking for they can special order it without additional charges incurred. If we do not yet have a retailer in your area, you can always buy directly from us at www.northernlites.com. We, however, strongly encourage buying locally if you can. Support the local and online retailers in your area. This generates USA employment nationwide.
There is so much more we want your readers to know, but not enough space to write it all out!! To sum up what we stated already; Northern Lites is a 20 plus year old, USA manufacturer of the World’s Premier Snowshoes. It will be hard to find a lighter and more durable snowshoe on the market. We are a family owned and professionally managed company that is 100% customer satisfaction oriented. Check out our website at www.northernlites.com. We encourage everyone to go online and see what top athletes and professionals worldwide have to say about owning and using Northern Lites Snowshoes. We guarantee, you will not be disappointed.